The authorities in Pakistan have threatened to deport Uyghur refugee families back to china. The police authorities claim that the families no longer have the legitimate documents to continue living in Pakistan for an extended period. One of the victims of the recent scares is Niyaz Ghopur. Allegedly the police and intelligence officers of Pakistan visited the Uyghur refugee to deliver the threat.
The refugee family moved to Pakistan almost six years ago after fleeing China. The Pakistan police and intelligence agency threatened to deport the complete family of Ghopur after their refugee cards expired in October. Soon after the family landed in Pakistan in 2016, the UN provided them with Refugee cards that instructed the government of Pakistan that the authorities should not deport the family.
The reason for this is china’s targeted cruelty to the people belonging to the Uyghur Muslim community. The community suffers from targeted exploitation and torture in China, so the UN gives them Refugee cards to recognize their status.
After the confrontation with the police and intelligence officers, Niyaz Ghopur informed them that he had visited the UNHCR offices to get the family’s UN Cards renewed. However, they refused to renew the cards and did not offer an explanation for the same. In the same breath, he assured the officers that he would get the documents renewed soon.
The Uyghur victims interacted with media sources, where he recollected his predicament. He confessed that while the UNHCR treated them nicely two years ago, their behaviour has changed. He shared that no one cares now, when two years ago, the authorities used to enquire regarding their situation regularly.
The changed behaviour of the Police officials and intelligence agencies of Pakistan does not bear an explanation. The country is home to a predominant population of Muslims. Due to this, they are expected to be sympathetic to the Uyghur Muslims. However, the governments of China and Pakistan share a close friendship, so Pakistan showed public support for China’s policies in several areas.
After the incident came to light, the Global communications head of UNHCR contacted the Pakistan office to investigate the matter. The contact between the two offices bore positive fruit for the Uyghur community as the UN office has restarted issuance and renewing the refugee cards.
